Hand labeler

ABSTRACT

A hand labeler in which self-adhesive labels are dispensed, one at a time, from a carrier strip. A removable cassette stores the carrier strip and labels, the cassette including means for guiding the strip from the roll over a printing platen, around a label peeling and dispensing lip, and back along a guide surface. The labeler includes a housing and an actuating lever, the cassette being mounted on the actuating lever, the actuating lever being pivotally mounted in the housing. A reciprocating slide member carried by the actuating lever engages the carrier along the guide surface of the cassette. The slide member is reciprocally actuated by relative movement between the actuating member and the housing. Manually squeezing the actuating lever toward the housing causes the slide member to advance the carrier strip and to bring a printing device in the housing into engagement with a label opposite the platen on the cassette. A stop on the cassette limits the travel of the reciprocating member to control the incremental advance of the carrier strip with each operation of the actuating lever.

United States Patent [191 Van Arnam et al.

[ 1 June 18, 1974 [54] HANDLABELER [75] Inventors: Donald E. Van Arnam, Surfside;

Clifton P. Colwell, Claremont, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Avery Products Corporation, San

Marino, Calif.

Olsson 101/288 Primary Examiner-J. Reed Fisher Assistant Examiner--Edward M. Coven Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Christie, Parker & Hale [5 7] ABSTRACT A han d labeler in which self-adhesive labels are dispensed, one at a time, from a carrier strip. A removable cassette stores the carrier strip and labels, the cassette including means for guiding the strip from the roll over a printing platen, around a label peeling and dispensing lip, and back along a guide surface. The 1abeler includes a housing and an actuating lever, the cassette being mounted on the actuating lever, the actuating lever being pivotally mounted in the housing. A reciprocating slide member carried by the actuating lever engages the carrier along the guide surface of the cassette. The slide member :is reciprocally actuated by relative movement between the actuating member and the housing. Manually squeezing the actuating lever toward the housing causes the slide mem ber to advance the carrier strip and to bring a printing device in the housing into engagement with a label opposite the platen on the cassette. A stop on the cas sette limits the travel of the reciprocating member to control the incremental advance of the carrier strip with each operation of the actuating lever.

14 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 HAND LABELER FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hand labelers, and more particularly to hand-operated labelers which print and dispense self-adhesive labels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hand-labeling devices are well known which print and dispense one label at a timefSuch labelers are used, for example, for applying price labels to packaged goods sold in supermarkets and retail stores. Usually the labeler is arranged to be gripped in one hand, and by squeezing a pair of handles in a scissors-type action, the mechanism is actuated to print a number on the label and to cause a label to bepeeled from a carrier strip and moved into position where it can be applied to an external surface by the hand-labeler tool. Known prior art labelers of this type have not been entirely satisfactory, both from the standpoint of design and manufacture, and also from the standpoint of the user. One problem in the design and manufacture is to provide an inexpensive fool-proof mechanism for precisely indexing the advance of the carrier strip with each label dispensing operation. Unless this indexing operation is very precisely controlled, the position of the labels in going from the beginning of a roll to the end of a roll may be subject to an accumulating error. The indexing mechanism is further complicated where it is desired to use the labeler on lables of difierent size. The present invention provides an improved shuttletype indexing mechanism which is simple in its design and easily controlled to vary the incremental advance of the carrier strip according to the size of the label.

Another difficulty in the use of prior art labelers has been in the manner in which they are operated by the user. The usual scissors-type manual grip requires that a squeezing action imparted by the hand of the user be the motivating force for printing the label and advancing the carrier strip. This squeezing action is resisted by a spring which returns the tool to its initial state after each actuation. This type of operation can be very fatiguing if repeated for any length of time. The design of the present invention permits the labeler to be operated by either striking or pressing the tool against a working surface as an alternative to squeezing the tool in the grip of one hand. Thus the user can in one action of the tool strike it against the surface of a box or package, for example, and both print and dispense the label as well as apply it to the surface of the package, all in one continuous motion. I

A further difficulty in the use of known prior art hand labelers has been in the insertion of new rolls of labels. Typically the roll is placed on a mandrel or inserted in a confined space which allows the carrier strip to be withdrawn from the roll while rotatably retaining the roll in position in the tool. Once the roll is inserted in the machine, the carrier strip must be threaded through the printing station, the label peeling and dispensing station, and the carrier advancing mechanism. The labeler of the present invention greatly simplifies the reloading problem by utilizing a replaceable cassette in which the label strip is stored. The cassette can be disposed after use or reloaded for further use. The cassette is pre-threaded so that the cassette is merely snapped into place in the hand labeler mechanism, and

the labeler is ready for operation. The cassette provides all the guiding surfaces for advancing the carrier strip through the labeler-during the label dispensing operation. One advantage of the cassette arrangement is that the need to clean and remove adhesive build-up on the guide surfaces, that has always been a problem with conventional labelers, is eliminated by the replaceable cassette. The cassette also includes a stop which controls the advance mechanism for the carrier strip so that if a cassette storing a different size label is inserted in the labeler tool, the tool is automatically set to advance the carrier strip the correct distance to accommodate the different size label.

Additional features of the present invention include an improved arrangement for setting the print characters by a single control knob. Also there is provided a simplified mechanism for utilizing a replaceable ink roller for applying ink to the printing characters with each actuation of the labeler tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other advantages of the present invention are achieved by providing a hand label dispenser which comprises a housing having one end formed to provide a hand-gripping surface. An actuating lever is pivotally attached at one end to the hand-gripping end of the housing. A removable cassette member is detachably secured to the actuating lever, the cassette including a roll of self-adhesive labels on a carrier strip. The cassette includes a platen, a dispensing lip, and an elongated guide surface, together with guide means for directing the carrier strip from the roll across the platen, around the dispensing lip, and along the length of the guide surface of the cassette. An advancing mechanism includes a shuttle plate which moves reciprocally opposite the guide surface of the cassette and includes fingers which engage the carrier to advance the carrier with each reciprocal stroke of the shuttle plate. The shuttle plate engages a stop on the cassette which limits the distance through which the shuttle plate advances with each stroke. The shuttle plate is actuated by linkage extending from the housing member to the shuttle plate such that relative movement between the actuating lever and the housing imparts a reciprocating movement to the shuttle plate. The print mechanism is mounted in the housing with print wheels positioned to move into engagement with the label where the label crosses the platen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7 but with the upper plate of the shuttle shifted in one direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 10 indicates generally the housing of the hand-labeler tool which is preferably constructed of a right-hand and a left-hand shell, indicated at 12 and 14 in FIG. 2, held together by screws 16 which are threaded into bosses 18 molded on the inside of the shells. The housing 110 is open along the lower margin 20 for receiving an actuating lever 22. The actuating lever 22 is pivotally supported at one end within the housing by a pin 24 secured at either end to the housing 10 and extending through a bracket portion 26 at the end of the actuating lever 22.

The housing 10 includes a handle portion 28 which cooperates with a gripping portion 38 of the actuating lever 22 to permit the labeler to be gripped in a persons hand and the actuating lever 22 squeezed into the interior of the housing 10. This squeezing action is resisted by a flat spring 32 in the form of an open loop, one end of the spring 32 being anchored within the housing 10 by a boss 34 and the other end of the spring 32 being anchored to the actuating lever 22 by a bracket 36. Relative movement between the housing 10 and the actuating lever 22 is limited by a pair of stops 40 which engage slots 42 on either side of the housing 10. The stops 40 project outwardly through the slots 42 and are supported by integrally molded side members 44 of the actuating lever 22. By pressing the side members 44 together, the stops 40 can be withdrawn inwardly of the slots 42, permitting the actuating lever to be rotated away from the housing 110 about the pivot pin 24 during the reloading of the labeling tool.

Loading of the labeler is accomplished by means of a cassette indicated generally at 46. The cassette 46 is a single piece of molded plastic and includes a pair of side walls 48 joined along the lower margins thereof by a bottom wall 50. The outer end of the bottom wall 50 terminates in a platen 52 stiffened by ribs 54. The platen terminates in a dispensing lip 56 which operates to separate the carrier strip from the labels. Side members 48 are also joined by a bridging section 58. The cassette holds a roll 60 of self-adhesive labels, the labels being secured by the pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side of the label to a carrier strip 62. The roll 60 is supported between the two side members 48 of the cassette 46 by a cylindrical knob 64 which project toward each other and extend into the central opening of the roll 60. The carrier strip is pre-threaded through the cassette, bypassing it over the platen 52, around the peeling edge 56, and along the length of the bottom wall 50 across a bridging guide section 66 that forms a slot with the end of the wall 50 through which the strip extends in passing outside of the labeling tool. The cassette is snapped in place in the actuating lever 22 by means of notches on either side of a ledge 70 that receive the side walls of the cassette. The cassette has lugs 68 which engage the side walls of the lever on either side of the ledge 70 to allow the cassette to pivot into position with the platen end of the cassette fitting against a bridging section 72 of the actuating lever 22. Spring-like retaining fingers 74 on either side of the platen 52 releasably lock the platen end of the cassette in position.

Enclosed within the housing 10 at the opposite end from the handle 28 is a printing assembly indicated generally at 76. The printing assembly includes a pair of molded frame plates 78 and 80. Extending between the two side plates is a shaft 82 on which is joumaled a plurality of print wheels 84, five of such print wheels being shown by way of example. Around the outer periphery of each print wheel are positioned the raised print characters 86. See FIG. 4. Each of the print wheels is held in a particular angular position by a detent means which includes a metal ball 88 and spring 90 located in a transverse bore extending through the shaft 82. The ball 88 is urged by the spring 90 into one of a plurality of detent notches 92 located around the inner periphery of each of the print wheels 84.

Each of the print wheels 84 can be rotated individuy to a n f h deten p tions to bring a lected character into printing position. Rotation of the print wheels is provided by a plurality of indicia wheels 94 molded of a transparent plastic. Theindicia wheels 94 are joumaled on a hollow transparent shaft 96 which is in turn joumaled in axially aligned openings in the frame plates 78 and 80. The outer ends of the shaft 96 extend through aligned openings in the outer shells 12 and 14 in the housing 10. The shaft is movable axially as well as in rotation, and has a plurality of parallel grooves 98 extending around the periphery of the shaft 96, the center-to-center spacing between the grooves being equal to the center-to-center spacing between the print wheels 84. A detent (see FIG. 3) includes a ball 100 and spring 102 that urges the ball into one of the grooves 98. Thus the shaft 96 is held in any one of a plurality of transverse positions by the detent.

As shown in FIG. 4, the shaft 96 has a plurality of teeth 104 projecting radially outwardly from the surface of the shaft 96, the teeth corresponding in width to the thickness of one indicia wheel. Each indicia wheel is provided with a plurality of notches 106 around the inner periphery which are engagable by the teeth 104. Thus as the shaft 96 is moved transversely from one detent position to another, the teeth 104 are moved from the notches in one indicia wheel to the notches in the next adjacent indicia wheel. By rotating the shaft 96 at any selected detent position, a corresponding one of the indicia wheels can be rotated. Each of the indicia wheels 94 in turn is provided with teeth 108 which are spaced about the outer periphery of the indicia wheel and are arranged to engage corresponding notches 110 around the periphery of the associated print wheel 84. The notches 110 are located between each of the adjacent print characters around the periphery of the print wheel. Thus rotation of any one of the indicia wheels 94 imparts rotation to the associated print wheel 84.

The shaft 96 is rotated by a knob 112 and integral shaft 114 which is inserted into the central opening in the hollow shaft 96. The end of the shaft 114 is provided with spring fingers 116 which spring outwardly so as to engage a shoulder 118 formed in the inside of the shaft 96 at one end. A color band 120 around the shaft 114 shows through the shaft 96 and indicia wheels to indicate which indicia wheel is rotatable by the knob 112, the color band 120 moving from indicia wheel to indicia wheel as the knob 112 is moved transversely from detent position to detent position. Each indicia wheel has a plurality of characters printed or otherwise formed on the outer periphery, these character indicia being viewed through aviewing opening 122 in the top of the housing 10.

The entire print assembly 76 is rigidly secured to the housing shell 12 by suitable projecting lugs which engage the two halves of the housing shell. The assembly is positioned such that as the actuating lever 22 moves toward the housing 10, the print wheels 84 move toward the platen 52. The platen 52 is provided with a resilient facing 126 over which the carrier strip and the associated labels pass. As each label moves into position over the platen, squeezing of the actuating lever causes the print wheels to come into contact with the label, pressing the print wheels against the label and against the platen facing, thereby imprinting on the surface of the label from the print wheels.

With each actuation of the lever 22, the labeler is arranged to imprint one label and to advance the carrier strip by a distance corresponding to the center-tocenter distance between adjacent labels on the strip. Also with each actuation of the lever 22, ink is applied to the print wheels and a label is peeled from the carrier strip and dispensed, all in a manner hereinafter described in more detail.

The carrier strip advancing mechanism includes a shuttle assembly 128 which is slidably supported within a channel formed by a bottom wall ll3 and side walls 132 integrally formed as part of the actuating lever 22. The shuttle mechanism 128 includes a channel-shaped lower plate 134 and upper plate 136. The upper plate 136 slides in grooves 138 along the side walls of the channel-shaped lower plate 134. The upper plate is held in the grooves by fingers 137 that snap under a lip 139 on the inside walls of the lower plate 134. Two springs 140 are connected between the lower and upper plates so as to bias the upper plate against a stop 141 at one end of the lower plate. FIG. 7 shows the upper plate in normal position against the stop 141 while FIG. 8 shows the upper plate 136 shifted away from the stop 141. The upper plate carries two sets of springloaded fingers. Each finger includes a cantilever spring 146 secured at one end to the underside of the upper plate 136 and having a pair of lugs or teeth 148 at the other end projecting upwardly through an opening in the plate 136.

The shuttle assembly 128 is positioned to move immediately below the wall 50 of the cassette such that the lugs 148 are pressed upwardly by the springs ll46 against the carrier strip as it passes along the lower surface of the cassette wall 50. The carrier strip is preferably provided with notches between the labels which are engagable by the lugs 148. Thus sliding movement of the shuttle assembly 128 imparts movement through the projecting lugs to the carrier strip along the lower surface of the cassette wall 50.

Movement is imparted to the shuttle assembly 128 by a pair of advance arms 150 located within the housing oneither side of the print assembly 76. One end of each of the arms 150 is pivotally secured to the print assembly 76 by a pin 152. The other end of each of the arms 150 pivotably engages a notch 153 in the lower plate 134 on either side of the shuttle assembly 128. The arms are withdrawn from the notches when actuating lever 22 is moved away from the housing 10 during reloading or replacing the cassette 46. As the actuating lever 22 is moved toward the print assembly .76 within the housing 10, the anns 150 force the shuttle assembly 128 to move to the right, as viewed in FIG. 3. This tool to roll the label onto the surface causes the lugs 148, which engage perforations in the carrier strip 62, to move the strip and cause the strip to be unwound from the roll 60 and around the dispensing lip 56. The label is of sufficient stiffness that it cannot bend around the sharp edge of the: dispensing lip 56 and so is peeled off the carrier strip by this action. A roller 154 rotatably supported by the actuating lever 22 comes in contact with the label as it is peeled off the carrier strip and is used by the operator of the labeling of a package or other material being labeled.

The forward travel of the upper shuttle plate 136 is limited by coming in contact with a stop 156 which is integrally formed with the bottom wall 50 of the cassette on either side of the path of the carrier strip 62. However, the lower plate may continue to move forward, against the urging of springs 140, as the housing and actuating lever are moved together. Thus each cassette controls the distance the carrier strip is advanced by the upper plate 136 and associated strip engaging fingers with each cycle of operation of the labeling tool. This permits the length of the carrier strip advance with each cycle of operation to be varied to shift the imprinting position on the label and to accommodate different sizes of labels being dispensed from a particular cassette. A return spring 157 is connected to post 159 on the lever 22 and a post 161 on the lower plate 134 for returning the shuttle mechanism to its initial position when the actuating lever 22 is released. On the return stroke of the shuttle mechanism 128 the carrier strip 62 is clamped by a pivoted brake arm which is supported from the frame of the actuating lever 22 and is urged by suitable spring means (not shown) against the surface of the carrier strip 62. The brake arm 160 presses against the carrier strip 62 locking it against movement in a direction back toward the roll.

To provide inking of the print wheels, an inking assembly 162 is provided. The inking assembly includes a metal frame including two side arms 164 in spaced parallel relationship joined by a bridging member 166. The spacing between the two side arms 164 is slightly greater than the width of the print assembly, permitting the arms to extend up the outside of the side plates 78 and 80. The upper ends of the arms 164 are pivotally connected to the side plates 78 and 80, as indicated at 168. A removable ink roller assembly is mounted at the lowerend of the side arms 164. The ink roller assembly includes an inking roller and a semi-cylindrical shield 172. The roller is mounted on a shaft 174 which extends through holes in the end portions of the shield 172. The ends of the arm 164 are bifurcated by a slightly undercut slot into which the ends of the shaft 174 can be inserted and snapped into place. The shield permits the user to replacethe ink roller without touching the roller itself during the removal and replacement operation.

Adjacent the pivot 168 of the arms 164 is a pin 176 which engages a slot 178 in the overlying shuttle actuating arms 150. By this arrangement, rotation of the arms 150 causes the inking assembly to rotate about its pivot supports 168 and in so doing causes the ink roller 170 to come into rolling contact with the characters on the print wheels 84. Thus ink is applied to the print characters before the label is brought up into contact with the print characters by operation of the actuating lever 22. A semi-circular shaped spring 180 is anchored at one end to the shuttle control arms 150, as indicated at 182, while the other end hooks over the pins 176. The spring 180 is compressed by moving the ends of the spring loop together as the actuating lever 22 is moved toward the housing 10. The spring H80 acts to return the shuttle mechanism and the inking mechanism back to their original positions when the actuating lever 22 is released.

From the above description it will be seen that an improved hand-operatedlabeling tool is provided which is basically simple in its design and very easy to use. The tool is loaded by squeezing the sides of the actuating lever frame to disengage the stops 40 from the slots 42, thereby permitting the actuating lever to be swung away from the housing 10. The cassette with a pre loaded and threaded label carrier strip is then inserted in the tool by first inserting the lugs 68 of the cassette into position on either side of the ledge 7t]; and then pressing the platen end of the cassette into place in which the fingers 74 lock the cassette in position. The tool is now ready to use by bringing the actuating lever toward the housing. The operation can be accomplished in various ways, either by gripping the tool with the hand encircling the handle 28 of the housing and the fingers squeezingagainst the gripping portion 30 of the actuating lever 22, or by resting the actuating lever 22 against the surface on which the label is to be applied and pressing the housing 10 toward the actuating lever. The latter arrangement avoids the need to rely on the grip alone to operate the tool, which can be fatiguing to the hand if repeated many times.

By bringing the actuating lever 22 toward the housing 10, the shuttle assembly 128 is forced to slide along the channel formed by the walls of the actuating member 22, thereby advancing the carrier strip 62 sufficiently to move a label into position opposite the platen 52. At the same time, the ink roller swings across the surface of the print wheels, applying ink thereto. The ink wheels then move into contact with the label, pressing the label against the platen 52 and imprinting the label by transfer of ink from the raised characters of the print the detent Release of the tool permits the shuttle mechanism and ink roller mechanism to return to their initial positions. The next operation of the tool again advances the carrier The indicia causing the now imprinted label to be peeled off the carrier strip by the action of the dispensing lip 56 into a position to be applied by the roller 154 to the surface of the material being labeled. Thus the imprinting of the label and the dispensing and application of the label involves two complete cycles of operation of the tool. However, since the imprinting of one label takes place at the same time that the previous label is being applied, the dispensing of an imprinted label takes place on each cycle of operation of the tool.

What is claimed is:

l. A label dispenser for dispensing individual selfadhesive labels from a carrier strip comprising a housing having one end formed to provide a hand gripping surface; an actuating lever pivotally attached at one end to the hand gripping end of the housing; a removable cassette member detachably secured to the lever and extending into the interior of the housing, the cassette including a means rotatably supporting a roll of labels on a carrier strip, a dispensing lip, an elongated flat guide surface extending away from the lip, and guide means directing the carrier strip from the roll around the dispensing lip and along the length of the guide surface of the cassette; advancing means movably supported in the lever and engaging the carrier adjacent said guide surface when the cassette is attached to the actuating lever for moving the carrier along said surface; and linkage means carried by the housing and engaging the advancing means when the lever is moved toward the housing, the linkage means actuating said advancing means to move the carrier strip when the actuating lever is moved toward the housing.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lever includes a linear guide surface extending in spaced parallel relationship to said guide surface of the cassette when the cassette is attached to the lever, and said advancing means includes a reciprocating slide member movable between said guide surfaces and finger means carried by said slide member for engaging the carrier strip to move the strip with movement of the slide member.

3. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein the linkage means includes an arm pivotally supported in the housing adjacent the opposite end of the housing from the pivoted connection to the lever, one end of the arm moving into and out of engagement with the slide member by rotation of the actuating lever relative to the housing.

4. Apparatus of claim 3 further including spring means connected between the actuating lever and the slide member for urging the slide member in one direction.

5. Apparatus of claim 3 wherein the finger means further includes means movably supporting the finger means on the slide member, said supporting means being movable relative to the slide member in a direction parallel to the path of movement of the slide member, and spring means connected between the finger supporting means and the slide member for urging the finger means in the direction of the advancing carrier strip against a stop on the slide member.

6. Apparatus of claim 5 wherein the cassette includes a stop adjacent the guide surface, the finger means engaging the stop when advancing the carrier strip to limit the distance the finger means advances the carrier strip.

7. Apparatus of claim 3 including means engaging the carrier strip adjacent the guide surface for limiting movement of the carrier strip to one direction along the guide surface.

8. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cassette further includes a platen engaging the carrier strip on the opposite side from the labels, the platen being positioned along the path of the carrier strip between the roll and the label dispensing lip.

9. Apparatus of claim 8 further comprising printing means fixedly mounted in the housing, the radial distance between printing means and pivotal connection between the housing and actuating lever being the same as the radial distance between the platen and the pivot.

10. A label dispenser for dispensing selfadhesive labels from a carrier strip, comprising: first and second hand grip members pivotally joined adjacent one end of the members to permit the other ends of the members to move relative to each other, a shuttle member, carrier engaging means mounted on the shuttle mem ber adapted to engage the carrier strip, linear guide means slidably mounting the shuttle member on said first member, the guide means extending substantially radially of the pivotal connection, spring means connected between the shuttle member and the first member urging the shuttle member in a direction away from the pivoted connection, means mounted on the first member for guiding the carrier strip into engagement with the carrier engaging means, and lever means pivotally connected to the second member, the lever means including an arm extending toward the first member at an acute angle to the radius between the pivot point of the lever means with the second member and the pivot point between the first and second members, the arm of the lever means engaging the shuttle member to force the shuttle member toward said pivotal connection against the urging of the spring means when the first and second members are moved toward each other.

11. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein the carrier engaging means includes a slide member, means movably mounting the slide member on the shuttle member for movement in a direction parallel to the linear movement of the shuttle member, and spring means connected between the shuttle member and the slide mem her for urging the slide member in the opposite direction from said first mentioned spring means.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 further including printing means mounted on the second member adjacent the relatively movable end of the second member, platen means mounted on the first member, the carrier moving labels past said platen, the platen and printing means being equally spaced from the pivotal connection between the first and second members, whereby the printing means engages a label opposite the platen when the first and second members are moved toward each other about the pivotal connection.

13. A label dispenser comprising first and second relatively movable frame members hingedly connected together; printing means mounted on the first frame member; a shuttle means slidably supported on the second frame member, the second frame member includ ing guide means for guiding the shuttle means along a linear path; spring means urging the shuttle means toward one end of the linear path; a removable cassette for storing a roll of labels mounted on a carrier strip, the cassette including a platen, a linear surface, and guide means directing the carrier strip from the roll across the platen and along the linear surface; means on the second frame member for releasably securing the cassette to the second frame member with said linear surface extending adjacent to the shuttle means and parallel to the linear path of the shuttle, the shuttle means including means engaging the carrier when the cassette is mounted on the second frame member; and a drive arm pivotally connected to the first frame member, the drive arm being moved into and out of engagement with the shuttle means by relative movement between the first and second frame members, the arm when engaged with the shuttle applying a force to the shuttle means to advance the carrier strip when the first and second frame members are moved toward each other.

14. Apparatus of claim 13 further including printing means fixedly mounted on the first: frame member, the printing means including type characters projecting toward the second frame member, the type character and platen being equally spaced from the pivotal connection between the two frame members. 

1. A label dispenser for dispensing individual self-adhesive labels from a carrier strip comprising a housing having one end formed to provide a hand gripping surface; an actuating lever pivotally attached at one end to the hand gripping end of the housing; a removable cassette member detachably secured to the lever and extending into the interior of the housing, the cassette including a means rotatably supporting a roll of labels on a carrier strip, a dispensing lip, an elongated flat guide surface extending away from the lip, and guide means directing the carrier strip from the roll around the dispensing lip and along the length of the guide surface of the cassette; advancing means movably supported in the lever and engaging the carrier adjacent said guide surface when the cassette is attached to the actuating lever for moving the carrier along said surface; and linkage means carried by the housing and engaging the advancing means when the lever is moved toward the housing, the linkage means actuating said advancing means to move the carrier strip when the actuating lever is moved toward the housing.
 2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lever includes a linear guide surface extending in spaced parallel relationship to said guide surface of the cassette when the cassette is attached to the lever, and said advancing means includes a reciprocating slide member movable between said guide surfaces and finger means carried by said slide member for engaging the carrier strip to move the strip with movement of the slide member.
 3. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein the linkage means includes an arm pivotally supported in the housing adjacent the opposite end of the housing from the pivoted connection to the lever, one end of the arm moving into and out of engagement with the slide member by rotation of the actuating lever relative to the housing.
 4. Apparatus of claim 3 further including spring means connected between the actuating lever and the slide member for urging the slide member in one direction.
 5. Apparatus of claim 3 wherein the finger means further includes means movably supporting the finger means on the slide member, said supporting means being movable relative to the slide member in a direction parallel to the path of movement of the slide member, and spring means connected between the finger supporting means and the slide member for urging the finger means in the direction of the advancing carrier strip against a stop on the slide member.
 6. Apparatus of claim 5 wherein the cassette includes a stop adjacent the guide surface, the finger means engaging the stop when advancing the carrier strip to limit the distaNce the finger means advances the carrier strip.
 7. Apparatus of claim 3 including means engaging the carrier strip adjacent the guide surface for limiting movement of the carrier strip to one direction along the guide surface.
 8. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cassette further includes a platen engaging the carrier strip on the opposite side from the labels, the platen being positioned along the path of the carrier strip between the roll and the label dispensing lip.
 9. Apparatus of claim 8 further comprising printing means fixedly mounted in the housing, the radial distance between printing means and pivotal connection between the housing and actuating lever being the same as the radial distance between the platen and the pivot.
 10. A label dispenser for dispensing selfadhesive labels from a carrier strip, comprising: first and second hand grip members pivotally joined adjacent one end of the members to permit the other ends of the members to move relative to each other, a shuttle member, carrier engaging means mounted on the shuttle member adapted to engage the carrier strip, linear guide means slidably mounting the shuttle member on said first member, the guide means extending substantially radially of the pivotal connection, spring means connected between the shuttle member and the first member urging the shuttle member in a direction away from the pivoted connection, means mounted on the first member for guiding the carrier strip into engagement with the carrier engaging means, and lever means pivotally connected to the second member, the lever means including an arm extending toward the first member at an acute angle to the radius between the pivot point of the lever means with the second member and the pivot point between the first and second members, the arm of the lever means engaging the shuttle member to force the shuttle member toward said pivotal connection against the urging of the spring means when the first and second members are moved toward each other.
 11. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein the carrier engaging means includes a slide member, means movably mounting the slide member on the shuttle member for movement in a direction parallel to the linear movement of the shuttle member, and spring means connected between the shuttle member and the slide member for urging the slide member in the opposite direction from said first mentioned spring means.
 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 further including printing means mounted on the second member adjacent the relatively movable end of the second member, platen means mounted on the first member, the carrier moving labels past said platen, the platen and printing means being equally spaced from the pivotal connection between the first and second members, whereby the printing means engages a label opposite the platen when the first and second members are moved toward each other about the pivotal connection.
 13. A label dispenser comprising first and second relatively movable frame members hingedly connected together; printing means mounted on the first frame member; a shuttle means slidably supported on the second frame member, the second frame member including guide means for guiding the shuttle means along a linear path; spring means urging the shuttle means toward one end of the linear path; a removable cassette for storing a roll of labels mounted on a carrier strip, the cassette including a platen, a linear surface, and guide means directing the carrier strip from the roll across the platen and along the linear surface; means on the second frame member for releasably securing the cassette to the second frame member with said linear surface extending adjacent to the shuttle means and parallel to the linear path of the shuttle, the shuttle means including means engaging the carrier when the cassette is mounted on the second frame member; and a drive arm pivotally connected to the first frame member, the drive arm being moved into and out of engagement with the shuttle means by relaTive movement between the first and second frame members, the arm when engaged with the shuttle applying a force to the shuttle means to advance the carrier strip when the first and second frame members are moved toward each other.
 14. Apparatus of claim 13 further including printing means fixedly mounted on the first frame member, the printing means including type characters projecting toward the second frame member, the type character and platen being equally spaced from the pivotal connection between the two frame members. 